"How Long Will My Soul..."

It was a night filled with many of the lesbian, bi, and queer women of Chicago. My friend and I entered the line that went around the corner of The Vic, an old music venue in the heart of the Lakeview neighborhood off the Belmont eL stop. It had been years since I went to a music concert. I felt old (for a little bit), because then I clearly saw folks older than me.

I tried to remember how I even got introduced to the Indigo Girls? College? I pictured their albums that I had on both CD and cassette tape. They were on tour because they had a new album. Had no idea, and unfortunately didn’t get to hear their new songs before the concert, but that was okay.

The concert was sold out and at first we went the first floor standing area. But, I checked out the second floor seating area and we moved up there. The vantage point wasn’t that bad, and we both liked the idea of sitting for the next three hours rather than standing.

Skimming the crowd, there were a lot more men and seemingly “straight” couples than I thought. Randomly, I saw two people I knew, and even a person I see regularly in my neighborhood up north. Various assumptions ran through my head – all I knew were probably wrong, but still stereotypically funny. Here are a few.

Assumptions of Those in Attendance at the Indigo Girls Concert

1. They do or have slept with women.

2. They are nice.

3. They are wearing Birkenstocks or sandals.

4. They care about the environment.

5. They drink beer, not wine.

6. They have two labs.

The opening act was a surprise, in that I had a CD by Michelle Malone. I probably got it years ago when I heard the Indigo Girls, also. Malone seems to open for them often. She was very country and fun. I couldn’t tell whether she was wearing cowboy boots or gardening boots.

An hour later, we then found ourselves anxiously waiting for the main attraction to begin! And soon enough, they did. They played a lot of their newer songs, but then ended with the older and more familiar ones like Galilelo and Closer to Fine. They gave one encore performance, but we couldn’t get them for a second. The lights slowly turned on and we headed for the train.